Sabah Education Department (SED) Director Jame Alip said the Federal Government should let Sabahans have the active role in the selection process for teachers, and added that the Department has a better understanding of the issues involved including on teacher shortages. “We should also be involved in selecting candidates to enter the teacher training institutes.”
“Currently, the Institut Pendidikan Malaysia (IPGM) in the peninsula decides on the selection of candidates for teacher training institutes throughout the country.”
Jame assured that the Sabah Government would not compromise on standards if allowed to select candidates for teacher training institutes. “We believe that excellent, creative and innovative teachers will produce quality students. So, candidates for teacher training institutes must meet certain criteria.”
“The current registration of applicants from Sabah to fill 1,000 vacancies in the state is confined to those with qualifications in teaching and education from any accredited institution.”
The selected candidates would have to undergo a one-year education course, according to the SED. “We are collecting data on unemployed graduates who can be offered jobs in the teaching service if they are interested.”
The initiative, added Jame, was part of efforts to ensure that 90 per cent of teachers in Sabah are locals within a three-year time-frame, according to a pledge made by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in Sabah and Sarawak. SED figures show that of the nearly 8,000 teachers from the peninsula in Sabah, 3,895 teachers are in primary schools and 3,907 teachers in secondary schools.
Jame added that about 400 Sabahans teaching in other states had applied to return home but not all of them had the right specialization needed in Sabah. “For example, we have vacancies for 200 science teachers, and as many counselors and religious teachers as possible.”
The Department also knows better if a teacher from Pensiangan, for example, should be posted to his or her hometown or elsewhere, said Jame. “This will make it easier to get teachers to teach in remote areas. Not many teachers want to be posted to these remote areas. Hence, these areas suffer teacher shortages.”
Nearly 3,000 of the estimated 8,000 teachers from the peninsula, based in Sabah, applied by October 1 for a transfer back home. About 1,000 of them are scheduled to leave next year.
By John Joseph
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